This is to certify that
Little Reader
has enjoyed exploring
Language Arts and Teamwork
at Little Readers’ Nook __________________________ during __________________________ with Roald Dahl’s
The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
DIG INTO
READING:6 Comprehension Strategies
VOCABULARY: Context Clues
GRAMMAR: Homophones, Personification
WRITING: Persuasive, Descriptive Writing
COMMUNICATION: Debates, Reader’s Theatre
CREATIVE LIFE SKILLS: Entrepreneurship
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Reading Detective Assignment 1
CONNECT to COMPREHEND
Do you long to explore a place in your neighbourhood?
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What is the strangest sight you have ever seen?
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PREDICT to COMPREHEND
Who do you think had bought the house? Why do you think the new door was so tall?
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VISUALISE to COMPREHEND
Doodle how you see the house in your mind in its past avatar as a lovely old sweet-shop.
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Vocabulary Detective Assignment 1
Use context clues from the sentence to decipher the meaning of each
underlined word. Mark the context clues that helped you in your quest.
1. I was enthralled by the Monkey’s wonderful song and dance.
From the context, I guess enthralled probably means a. bored b. scared c. fascinated
2. The Pelican hadn't eaten in days. He was so famished, he could even eat a stale sardine!
From the context, I guess famished probably means a. happy b. hungry c. angry
3. A walnut fresh from the tree is so scrumptious and sweet to eat!
From the context, I guess scrumptious probably means a. tasty b. horrible c. salty
4. A Rolls Royce pulled up right below us and a chauffeur got out from the car.
From the context, I guess chauffeur probably means a. electrician b. driver c. chef
5. The Duke looked as though he would have a fit. “Who are these creatures?”, he bellowed.
From the context, I guess bellowed probably means a. whispered b. sang c. roared
6. The hungry Monkey rushed to the walnut tree, cracking nuts and guzzling what was inside.
From the context, I guess guzzling probably means eating a. greedily b. carefully c. angrily
7. The friends became quiet and melancholy as they bid each other goodbye.
From the context, I guess melancholy probably means a. thrilled b. confused c. sad
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Grammar Detective Assignment 1
HOMOPHONES
DID YOU KNOW? Homophones are a set of words that have the
exact same sound but different spellings and different meanings.
FIND AND CORRECT 2 INCORRECT USAGES OF HOMOPHONES FROM THE BOOK.
Incorrect: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Correct: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Incorrect: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Correct: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CIRCLE THE CORRECT HOMOPHONE TO COMPLETE EACH SENTENCE.
The pelican sang, “Eye / I would love a fish or two / too! How far are we from the see / sea?”
Please grate / great some cheese and peal / peel eight / ate potatoes for dinner!
It’s my fondest wish too / to learn to fly a plane / plain once I am grown / groan up.
Quick! Let’s flee / flea! The big bad bare / bear is here / hear!
Let’s wait / weight for some / sum time, the bus should be their / there soon.
A strong wind blue / blew the flower / flour right off / of its stalk / stock.
The wild boar / bore rubbed his paws / pause and his but / butt against the tree trunk.
The whale / wail raced against the tide / tied to bee / be home before the son / sun set.
Good buy / bye dear / deer friends! We shall meet / meat again someday.
One / Won could easily spend the hole / whole day and night / knight cleaning the Duke's house!
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Reading Detective Assignment 2
QUESTION to COMPREHEND
What is a Geraneous Giraffe? Is Geraneous a real word?
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Can a pelican’s beak really slide back? Why does the author claim it can?
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What role does each friend play in the functioning of the Ladderless Window Cleaning Company?
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INFER to COMPREHEND
Who do you think painted the changing signs on the house?
FOR SAIL:____________________________ SOLED:____________________________ THE LWCC:____________________________
Who do you think was throwing things out of the house? Why?
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Why do you think Pelly considered cleaning Hampshire House the best window-cleaning job in the world?
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Why do you think the friends felt nervous as they approached Hampshire House?
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Vocabulary Detective Assignment 2
Look up the dictionary to find interesting new words from the book and
decipher their meaning.
Word ___________________________________________________ Page _________ Noun / Verb / Adjective / Adverb
Meaning _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Synonym _______________________________________________ Antonym ________________________________________________
Word ___________________________________________________ Page _________ Noun / Verb / Adjective / Adverb
Meaning _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Synonym _______________________________________________ Antonym ________________________________________________
Word ___________________________________________________ Page _________ Noun / Verb / Adjective / Adverb
Meaning _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Synonym _______________________________________________ Antonym ________________________________________________
Word ___________________________________________________ Page _________ Noun / Verb / Adjective / Adverb
Meaning _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Synonym _______________________________________________ Antonym ________________________________________________
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Grammar Detective Assignment 2
PERSONIFICATION
Personification is a tool used by writers to create a strong effect by
giving inanimate objects human or person-like qualities - emotions,
speech or movement - an angry storm, a lonely house standing all by itself.
UNDERLINE EXAMPLES OF PERSONIFICATION IN THE BELOW SENTENCES.
The flowers nodded merrily in the cool evening breeze.
The angry stormy raged all night, uprooting all the trees in our garden.
The cool waters of the pond invited me to take a plunge.
The hot summer sun played hide and seek with the naughty clouds.
The cars stuck in traffic blared their horns in frustration.
FIND 5 EXAMPLES OF PERSONIFICATION FROM THE BOOK.
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CREATE YOUR OWN EXAMPLES OF PERSONIFICATION USING THE WORD BANK.
merciless dance trees raindrops merry sun whisper scowl
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Vocabulary Detective Assignment 3
Use context clues, then look up the dictionary to decipher
interesting new words from the book. Do both meanings match?
Word: ______________________________
Contextual Meaning: _________________________________________
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Dictionary Meaning: _________________________________________
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Word: ______________________________
Contextual Meaning: _________________________________________
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Dictionary Meaning: _________________________________________
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Word: ______________________________
Contextual Meaning: _________________________________________
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Dictionary Meaning: _________________________________________
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Grammar Detective Assignment 3
PREFIX SUFFIX COMPOUND WORDS
DID YOU KNOW? In the word Ladderless, less is a suffix. A suffix is added
at the end of a word to modify its meaning. Adding the suffix less adds the
meaning ‘without’ to the original word, the suffix ful adds the meaning ‘full of’ to the original word.
CAN YOU THINK OF 3 MORE WORDS THAT END WITH THE SUFFIX LESS?
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WRITE 3 WORDS WITH THE SUFFIX FUL.
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DID YOU KNOW? Prefix is similar to suffix since it also modifies a word's meaning, except that it is added at
the beginning of a word. For example, in the words uncover and disrespect, un and dis are prefixes.
CAN YOU FIND 3 WORDS FROM THE BOOK THAT BEGIN WITH A PREFIX?
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DID YOU KNOW? Compound words are a set of words that join together to form a new word with a different
meaning. For example, rain and bow combine to form rainbow, sun and flower together make sunflower.
FILL IN THE BLANKS TO ANALYSE COMPOUND WORDS FROM THE BOOK.
Fish + Monger = _______________________ ________________ + ________________ = Sweet-shop
NOW LET’S FIND MORE COMPOUND WORDS FROM THE BOOK!
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Reading Detective Assignment 3
CONNECT and QUESTION to COMPREHEND
Which sweet would you like to try from Billy's shop? Explain why.
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Did any part of the story remind you of something?
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reminded me of _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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because _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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The connection I made was of type: Text-to-Self / Text-to-Text / Text-to-World
Why do you think the author claims a giraffe’s neck is its proudest possession? Do you agree?
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Reading Detective Assignment 4
VISUALISE and infer to COMPREHEND
Which part of the story did you visualise most clearly? Why? Doodle it!
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Who in your opinion was the leader of The LWCC team? Explain why.
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Why do you think the burglar was called the Cobra?
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Why do you think the Wonka factory made Stickjaw for talkative parents?
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Vocabulary Detective Assignment 4
SYNONYMS IDIOMS
MATCH SYNONYMS FROM THE BOOK. CAN YOU DECODE IDIOMS FROM THE BOOK. CAN YOU
RECALL WHERE THEY OCCUR IN THE STORY? RECALL WHERE THEY OCCUR IN THE STORY?
Starving Glow in the blink of an eye
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Scream Enormous
wishing like mad
Sparkle Famished ________________________________________
Sail out Gaze bet your life
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Dirty Jump
what on earth
Amazing Blighter ________________________________________
Shout Thin hanging on for dear life
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Gigantic Screech
blue in the face
Skinny Filthy
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Leap Astonishing stop dead in their tracks
Stare Bellow ________________________________________
took off like an arrow
Bounder Fly out
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DID YOU KNOW? Synonyms are words with the same DID YOU KNOW? Idioms are phrases whose meanings
meaning that can be used in place of each other. differ from the literal meanings of the words in them.
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Reading Detective Assignment 5
SUMMARISE and PREDICT to COMPREHEND
Summarise the LWCC business model. Is it superior to its competitors? Why?
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Let’s predict! What do you think will happen in the life of a character a day after the story ends?
I think…
I think so because…
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Vocabulary Detective Assignment 5
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
1
ACROSS
2
2. How did the friends feel
E N O
to bid each other goodbye?
3. Something that's odd,
strange or different!
D
3 4 5. How did the giraffe react
U R when she saw the
plantation?
7. Very very hungry!
T
5 8. Stand upright, typically
S P used in relation to hair!
N 9. How did the pelican
speak when she saw the
salmon?
6 7
A E DOWN
1. Astounding, amazing,
8
inspiring wonder!
R T
4. The pelican's beak was
so special and magical that
9
it had been...?
C E E
5. As big as a giant!
6. Whisper, mumble, mutter!
DOWN 1. WONDROUS 4. PATENTED 5. GIGANTIC 6. MURMUR
ACROSS 2. MELANCHOLY 3. QUEER 5. GASP 7. FAMISHED 8. BRISTLE 9. SCREECH
ANSWER KEY
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Descriptive Writing Detective
Identify interesting adjectives, nouns, verbs and phrases from the book that
appealed to different senses and created a vivid picture in your mind.
WHAT DID YOU SEE? WHAT DID YOU HEAR?
darkness and dust splintering crash
faded lettering swoosh of wings
WHAT DID YOU
WHAT DID YOU FEEL? WHAT DID YOU
SMELL? TASTE?
tingling in my toes
thick smoke warm as toast crispy chocolate crust
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Descriptive Writing Wizard 1
Think of interesting adjectives, nouns, verbs and phrases you will use to appeal to
different senses and create a vivid picture in your reader’s mind. Be specific!
WHAT WILL READERS SEE? WHAT WILL READERS HEAR?
WHAT WILL READERS
WHAT WILL READERS FEEL? WHAT WILL READERS
SMELL? TASTE?
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Descriptive Writing Wizard 2
Telling sentences merely convey information. Showing sentences on the
other hand make readers smell, touch, taste, see, hear, actually experience a
scene. Rewrite telling sentences as showing sentences to recreate your
scene vividly.
TELLING SENTENCES SHOWING SENTENCES
Mira woke up to a hot summer day. The harsh glare of the summer sun made the
room unbearably hot. Mira awoke to a
parched throat, desperate for a glass of
water. She was dismayed to find her damp
night clothes clinging to her body.
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Descriptive Essay
Notice anything strange around you?
TIPS TO CRAFT AN ENGAGING PIECE OF DESCRIPTIVE WRITING
Descriptive writing’s purpose is to describe - people, places or objects.
First, think of what you will describe and the details you will include.
Next, ensure you appeal to multiple senses - sight, sound, smell, touch, taste.
Finally, show, don’t tell, to build a clear picture in your reader’s mind.
Not far from where I live, there is a queer _______________________________________________________
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Persuasive Writing Wizard
Decide your opinion on an issue, then think of reasons to support your
opinion and convince your readers. Research to back them up with facts or
examples. Conclude with a powerful call for readers to support your opinion.
YOUR OPINION ON AN ISSUE
REASON 1 REASON 2
SUPPORTING FACTS OR EXAMPLES SUPPORTING FACTS OR EXAMPLES
SUMMATION
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Persuasive Essay
Who is most important in the LWCC?
TIPS TO CRAFT A STRONG PIECE OF PERSUASIVE WRITING
Persuasive writing’s purpose is to convince readers your opinion is correct.
First, clearly state the issue and your opinion on it.
Next, give 2 convincing reasons with facts or examples to support your opinion.
Finally, summarise the argument, restating the opinion readers should support.
I believe ________________________________ is the most important partner in The LWCC. Here’s why.
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Reader’s Theatre 1: Meeting the Duke
Read Comprehend Communicate
Billy: Your cherries, Your Grace!
Duke: Great Scott! Good Lord! What’s this? Who are you? Who are these creatures? Has the
whole world gone dotty?
Monkey: We are the window cleaners!
Pelly, Monkey and Giraffe: We will polish your glass, Till it’s shining like brass, And it sparkles like
sun on the sea!
We will work for your Grace, Till we’re blue in the face, The giraffe and the Pelly and me!
Giraffe: You asked us to come and see you.
Duke: I like the way you picked the cherries for me. Could you also pick apples in the autumn?
Pelly, Monkey, Giraffe & Billy: We could! We could! Of course we could!
Duke: And who are you?
Giraffe: He is our business manager. His name is Billy. We go nowhere without him.
Duke: Very well, very well. Come along and let’s see if you’re good at cleaning windows.
Giraffe: It is very simple, Your Grace. I am the ladder, the Pelly is the bucket and the monkey is
the cleaner. Watch us go! We’ll do the top floor first! Bring the water up please.
Duke: Don’t worry about the two top floors. You can’t reach them any ways.
Giraffe: Who says we can’t reach them?
Duke: I do and I’m not having any of you risking your silly necks around here.
Billy: (whispers to Duke) Never say anything bad about his neck. It’s his proudest possession!
Duke: Don’t argue with me, you foolish creature! If you can’t reach it, you can’t reach it and that’s
the end of it! Now get on with your work!
Giraffe: Your Grace there are no windows in the world I cannot reach with this magical neck of
mine.
Monkey: Show him, Giraffey! Go on and show him what you can do with your magical neck.
Giraffe: How’s that?
Duke: Amazing! Astonishing! Remarkable! Incredible! Now I can sit indoors and enjoy the view!
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Reader’s Theatre 2: Catching the Cobra
Read Comprehend Communicate
Duke: What’s happened to them? What’s gone wrong?
Billy: I don’t know.
Giraffe: (whispering) Your Grace, there is a man in one of the bedrooms on the third floor. He is
opening all the drawers and taking things out. He’s got a pistol!
Duke: Which room? Show me at once!
Giraffe: (whispering) It’s the one on the third floor where the window is wide open.
Duke: By Gad! That’s the Duchess’s bedroom! He’s after her jewels! Call the police! Summon the
army! Bring the cannon! Charge the Light Brigade!
Billy: Look at that marvelous patented beak! It’s sliding out of his head ready for action!
Duke: What’s that crazy bird up to?
Monkey: (shouting) Wait and see! Hold your breath, old man! Hold your nose! Hold your horses
and watch the Pelly go!
Billy: What’s that banging noise coming from inside Pelly’s beak? It sounds as though someone is
using a sledgehammer against it from the inside.
Monkey: He’s got him! Pelly’s got the burglar in his beak!
Duke: (shouting) Well done, sir! I’ll run him through! Open up, Pelican! Let me get at him! I’ll run
the bounder through before he knows what’s happened to him! I’ll spike him like a pat of butter!
I’ll feed his gizzards to my foxhounds!
Giraffe: (shouting) the burglar is armed with a pistol, Your Grace! If Pelly lets him out now he’ll
shoot us all!
Duke: He can be armed with a machine-gun for all I care! I’ll handle the blighter! Open up, sir!
Open up!
Monkey: What was that ear-splitting BANG?
Duke: (shouting) Watch out! He’s trying to shoot his way out! Pelican! Keep that beak closed, sir!
Don’t you dare let him out! He’ll murder us all!
Giraffe: Shake him up, Pelly! Rattle his bones! Teach him not to do it again!
Billy: Well done, Pelly!
Giraffe: You’re doing a great job! Keep on shaking him so he doesn’t fire that pistol again!
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